Jamaican Till I Die!

Deep down in the subconscious mind of every Jamaican living in a foreign country is the desire to return home, even in the minds of most “Use To Be” Jamaican. I believe that this attraction, this salmon like drive to return to ones homeland is so great that some Jamaicans are forced to find various ways to resist this temptation and to fight the instinctual urge but yaard is calling.   The salmon swims upstream in a desperate attempt to return to their place of birth trying along the way not to get eaten by Bears and in the case of Jamaicans, they would like to return home but do not want become a victim of a crime. Crime real or imaginary represents 90 percent of Jamaica’s problems, it is the number one entity that is limiting progress and slowing our social and economic development, it is the reason why our nation building initiative since independence have not been as successful. The world wide perception of Jamaica and Jamaicans is that of crime and drugs and yet ...

 I think I have calmed down enough to write a blurb about the Sp*rs vs Arsenal match and the state of the Arsenal. I had hoped that this squad would at least understand the importance of beating the scumbags but I think with this squad that is asking for too much. There was a time when 3 up against a side would mean game over, done and dusted but not anymore. These days we can score 3 or 4 before halftime and still end up losing or drawing the match. It is so predictable that Arsenal supporter now live by the motto “it’s not over till it’s over”, we just do not trust this squad of players to deliver the glory for Arsenal FC, that it seems, is asking too much.  Yes they play beautiful football, have been for 2 or 3 seasons now, but we know the real beauty of Football is winning. All the fancy passes and twinkle toeing into the box means absolutely nothing if at the final whistle we do not come away with 3 points. I do believe this season is over for us, the other top thr...

What is Jamaica, the brand? What is the image your mind conjures when you think of Jamaica? Sunny beaches, ganja and guns perhaps? Or how about laid back work ethic, homophobia or backward banana republic on the brink of civil unrest? Credible words or great misnomers? An American colleague remarked, “My wife and I have been going to Jamaica now for 8yrs we just love it.” Then he paused, took a deep breathe and said, “But don’t you feel as you drive to the compound and see those shanty huts that any minute now they might rise up with machetes!” Bangkok street riots This is ‘Brand Jamaica”? Is this fear of a black planet or fear of the folklorist bravado that Yaad likes to perpetuate; the bombastic bad bwoy Buccaneer. We know this is the media image of Jamaica, search online and you will be floored by the amount of off-balance reporting and negative reports on gangs and drugs. During the time of the Dudus drama you would think the whole isle was ablaze with unrest and uncertai...

Collective Guilt - The unpleasant emotional reaction that results among a group of individuals when it is perceived that the group illegitimately harmed members of another group. It is often the result of “sharing a social identity with others whose actions represent a threat to the positivity of that identity.  -Wikipedia Most Jamaicans lose their minds whenever they hear that a black person in England or in America was charged with a crime. They would log on to various messaging boards, posting messages of hope that the culprit is not a Jamaican or of Jamaican origin. It seems that Jamaicans regardless of geographic location suffer from collective guilt and shame only when a person of Jamaican origin, who lives in a foreign country commits a crime. However no such guilt exist when a Jamaican commits the same crime in Jamaica.   If one Jamaican commits a crime in a foreign country he is blamed for making all of "us" Jamaicans look bad…  US?  …. Excuse me?....

The first beer I ever drank was a Red Stripe, at about the age of 12, growing up in Jamaica that was a rite of passage to manhood you were given a Red Stripe and told to hold your corners, which means with beer in hand stand to the side, look cool, observe what is happening around you, chill out and relax.  It was easy to switch between Red Stripe and Heineken they were both lagers with similar taste, so when moseying up to the bar the normal order would be “Boss man, let off a Red Stripe or Heineken nuh!” to me they were interchangeable.  I never liked the Traditional Brewed Guinness available in Jamaica at the time, it was far too bitter for my young tender palate so I avoided it whenever possible and found out very early in life that mix liquor was not for me, the worst hangover I ever had came from abusing Vodka and orange juice. However later in life my cousin introduced me to "Myers rum, ginger ale with a twist of lime", for a while that was my signature drin...